Where the Tide Brought Her
by Lady Myotismon
Summary: Takes place immediately after the second book. Candy wakes up after the flood to discover that her reunion with her friends was all just a wonderful dream. The Izabella led her straight to Pyon, to Rojo Pixler, where Providence has dark things in store.
1. Intro: A Place to Lay her Head

A/N: I am not Clive Barker and don't own _Abarat_. I'm not making any money off of this… blah blah blah, I'm sure you guys know the drill.  
This is going to be a story consisting of several pretty short chapters, although they're all going to be longer than this first one.  
This is written for my lovely friends on The Midnight Hour forums. If any of you read this and aren't members, I really suggest you join! We have games (one of which inspired this fanfic), discussions, contests, and roleplaying! Everyone there is totally awesome and we really need more members!

* * *

_**Where the Tide Brought Her**_

_Introduction: A Place to Lay Her Head_

_

* * *

  
_

Candy Quackenbush had slept soundly, despite the monsters and floods that had plagued her dreams. When she finally woke, she expected to be surrounded by her friends. After so long spent cold and alone in the Izabella, she wanted desperately to take all of them into her arms and relish their warmth and touch. But as she opened her eyes, she discovered that she was by herself, no sign of her friends at all.

A sick, nervous feeling began to settle in her stomach. The room she found herself in was completely unfamiliar. Everything in the room was gray, with no designs or color, and the furniture was all so geometrical and angular. It was completely different from the vibrant settings she had seen elsewhere in the Abarat. It felt more like a cubicle… or a prison.

But the bed was incredible. It was so wide that it took up most of the room. Fat, fluffy pillows were piled around her head and she was nestled under at least half a dozen blankets, some of which were made of fabrics that Candy had never felt before. The mattress contoured to her body, fitting into every curve, so that it felt more like she was sleeping on a cloud than a bed.

Weeks and weeks had passed since Candy had last slept in a real bed. She flipped the pillow over to its puffier, cooler side and dropped her head on it. Before she could even arrange the blankets around her, she had fallen back asleep.


	2. Chapter 1: Just a Dream

"Candy, please wake up."

Candy was so eager to see her friends that she quickly obliged the speaker. Her eyes flew opened and she sat up, prepared to hug Malingo or whoever was closest. But the face that greeted her did not belong to someone whom she wanted to embrace.

"Pixler?"

"Please, call me Rojo," he replied, smiling down at her from the foot of the bed, where he stood holding a tray of food.

Candy's mouth watered. When had she last eaten? But she quickly pushed her hunger away to the back of her mind. "What have you done to my friends?"

"Your friends?"

"Yes! What did you do to them?"

Pixler looked genuinely confused. "I assure you, Candy, I've done nothing with your friends. You were alone when I found you."

"Found me?" Candy sank back under the covers. What had happened? She remembered reuniting with them so vividly.

"Yes. I found you floating half-dead in the sea. I picked you up and gave you some Panacea. You've been sleeping in my guest room for three days."

"What? But I washed up on Huffaker! All of my friends… they were there to greet me…"

"I don't know about that. Perhaps you were dreaming?"

Candy groaned and buried her face in the pillows. She hoped her friends were all right. But they were probably better off than she was, trapped here with Rojo Pixler. She would rather face Christopher Carrion, at least she knew what to expect from him.

"I've brought you some food. You should eat while it's hot," Pixler said. He arranged the tray on her lap.

Even through the pillows, the tantalizing smells found Candy's nostrils. She rolled over and sat up to study the tray's contents. In the corner sat a tall glass of amber liquid, dripping with condensation. There was a bowl of fruits of all colors and textures, cut into chunks and covered in thick green syrup that smelled like honey. There were toasted pastries filled with strips of sizzling meat, small sausages stuffed with spices and vegetables, and crackers dripping with melted cheese and coated with miniscule seeds.

A moan escaped her lips as she reached for a pastry, but she was reluctant to bring it to her lips. What if he had done something to the food? She doubted that he would poison it, because he had no reason to kill her. But she did not know what Pixler was capable of. Could he have put something in the food that would make her answer his questions about the Hereafter?

Pixler noticed her hesitation and misinterpreted it. "It's a very common Abaratian dish. It's nothing exotic. But if you'll tell me about food from Hereafter, I can work with my chefs to – "

"No," Candy interrupted him. She did not want to tell Pixler anything about her home. But she realized that her life was really in his hands right now. So she needed to appear pleasant. "I like to try new foods."

She took a bite of the pastry. It was crisp and flaky. The meat inside was so tender, and as she chewed it the spicy juices flooded her mouth. It was the texture of excellent steak, but the taste was unlike any meat she had ever eaten. She quickly took another bite, and another, until the pastry was nothing but some crumbs on her nightgown.

Nightgown? "_You changed my clothes_?" Candy cried, disgusted. She quickly pulled the blankets over her chest, feeling exposed.

Pixler looked distressed, "Candy, we had to. Your clothes were soaked. I promise you, my most trusted female assistant did it. I would not dream of taking advantage of you that way."

Candy believed that he was telling the truth. She knew his intentions for the Abarat were less than honorable, but around her he had always been an exemplary gentleman. "I assure you I can dress myself," she snapped, "Don't do it again."

"Of course not. I was just trying to help."

"Why do you want to help me anyway? I already told you that I don't want to help you," Candy said, picking up the fork and starting on one of the sausages.

Pixler sat down on the foot of the bed and ran a hand through his hair. "Alright, I understand. You don't like me. You don't trust me. Why?"

Candy took a long drink from her glass to kill time so that she could think of an answer. Should she just come straight out and tell him all that she had heard about him?

"I know a lot of people throughout the archipelago dislike me. They say it's unnatural, bringing light to the Night Islands. But I bought it from the Carrion family, you know? Pyon is much better off now than it was before," Pixler said calmly.

"That's not it," Candy said. She paused, then opened her mouth to speak again, but Pixler was already continuing.

"Then what is it? Is it because of my products? I've created a medicine that cures illnesses, and has made the lives of all Abaratians better than it once was. Before my Panacea was available to the public, people were dying of the simplest diseases. And my Sublime Verities have – "

"No, that's not it either," Candy interrupted him, "It's just that – "

"Are you still mad at me because of the moth, Candy? It was not a living creature, and sources of mine say the rider survived the fall. I'm sorry about your squid friend; you have no idea how distraught that left me. But your own life would have been in tremendous jeopardy if the moth had been allowed to finish its flight."

Candy did not respond. She had not thought of her early days in the Abarat in such a long time. She had almost forgotten the little squid Squiller, and his owner Samuel Hastrim Klepp the Fifth, author of the current edition of _Klepp's Almenak_. And yet the _Almenak _had been assisting her almost every step on her journey. She suddenly wanted desperately to be back on Yebba Dim Day so that she could find Klepp and thank him.

"I have to leave," she said, pushing the tray away from her and swinging her legs over the side of the bed.

"Candy, you have to rest. Give your body another day or two. Eat some more food!"

Candy nearly stood. But then she thought about the soft, warm bed and the delicious food and she figured just one more day really couldn't hurt… "Do you have hot showers?"


End file.
